A Safe Haven
by RussetWolf
Summary: A girl obsessed with SSBM gets sucked in! She finds out that the characters are much different than she thought... Rated PG13 for weirdness that is sure to follow... Chapter 2 is up!
1. Chapter 1

Well, welcome to my newest fic! Summary: A girl who is totally addicted to SSBM ends up getting sucked inside it! We find out that the characters inside are more than they seem... I've added my own relationships, but there's little to no slash, and NOT between Marth, Roy, OR Link! So booyah!  
  
I don't own SSBM or anything of that nature. I don't own the Matrix. I own Dayle and the plot and that's just about it.  
  
The writing is going really fast, thankfully, so there will be more chapters up fairly soon. This is my first SSBM fic and I want you to be nice.  
  
I'm also working on a fic for Ocarina of Time... why aren't there others already?  
  
ANYways, here it is...  
  
A Safe Haven  
  
Chapter 1  
  
In which Marth is a computer genius  
  
"Meep... meep... meep..."  
  
"I'm up already," Dayle Haven muttered to her alarm clock. Eyes still cemented shut, she aimed a hand at the snooze button and missed, slapping her wooden nightstand instead. "Ow," she groaned as she flipped her long, glossy brown hair away from her face and pillow. Her green-gray eyes opened just enough to see the glowing red numbers that announced "6:00." Dayle grunted, rolled over, and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, her alarm still blaring. Able to see this time, she whacked the snooze button and switched the alarm to "OFF." Gray light was peeking in from behind her closed blinds, just enough light for Dayle to see just where she had left her remote control.  
  
She turned her plasma TV on, then sat up in bed to stretch. Heaven forbid it, but she'd actually have to get up to turn her GameCube on. While she was up, she caught a glance of herself in her full-length mirror. She thought she looked like a piece of white trash in her sleeping clothes, but who was there to see her? Anyway, it was comfortable- gray yoga pants under an oversize T-shirt. *As long as I'm up, I can get dressed, though,* she decided.  
  
She pulled out a pair of loose jeans and a pink T-shirt emblazoned with "I'm a boy: GET IT RIGHT" and lay them on her bed, sneaking a bra on underneath her sleep shirt. Stripping to her bra and underwear, she appraised herself in the mirror. She thought she looked too skinny and overly-endowed; her legs, arms, and waist were almost too thin, but she thought she had been overly "blessed" in the breast department. It didn't matter, though- no one had ever asked Dayle out, and Dayle was just fine with that. Pulling on her daytime clothes, she watched the movie at the beginning of Super Smash Bros. Melee. Once she was dressed, she collapsed onto the bed, controller in hand. Pressing "START," she chose "1P Mode," then "Classic." She glanced over the plethora of characters she could choose- she had beaten this game, snagging every character, stage, and trophy- but let her cursor rest on Link. Pressing the "A" button, she upped the level to "VERY HARD" and reduced the number of lives to one. Playing this way was like cold water to the face for Dayle- a waker-upper and a challenge, all in one.  
  
+++  
  
Meanwhile, in an apartment in Nintendo Metropolis, Marth sat with a computer in his lap. Tapping the keys rapidly, he finally reached the stage of his computer that would let him monitor the gamer playing Super Smash Bros. Melee via wired controller.  
  
Looking over his shoulder, Roy asked, "Are we on-wire yet?"  
  
"Almost." Marth wasn't one to be interrupted during hard, dangerous, and potentially illegal missions. On his computer screen was an image of Dayle.  
  
"You can do all this?" Roy asked incredulously.  
  
Marth replied with a pleased "mm-hmm" before bringing up a screen with her exact locations. *Thank God for the invention of the GPS,* he thought.  
  
*Picture-in-picture? That's sweet!* thought Roy. He whispered to the screen, "Buckle your seatbelt, Dorothy, because Kansas is going bye-bye."  
  
"Even if she's going slow, I only have about five minutes to pull her into our world," Marth said to Roy. "I need to get this done, and quickly. The sooner I get off-wire, the better." He tapped in an access code, the final one, and there was a slight feeling of apprehension in the little room before he pressed "ENTER."  
  
There was nothing to do now but watch and wait for the program to finish its job- Marth's programs ran without glitches.  
  
+++  
  
Dayle, watching her plasma screen, was unaware that she was being watched. She had no idea that soon, she would be in the Super Smash Bros. Melee world by Marth tapping into her controller's wire and making her transparent. For the moment, she was blissfully ignorant, mashing buttons and swinging the joystick like there was no tomorrow.  
  
+++  
  
Marth, via the computer/TV, was the first one to notice when Dayle's hands went transparent.  
  
"She's going into replication," he muttered to no one in particular. He pushed a button on the sleek receptor in his ear, opening a communications link with Link. "Link?" he questioned.  
  
"Still nothing," came Link's voice, full of tension.  
  
Roy said over Marth's shoulder, "We're going to need a signal soon."  
  
Marth glanced at the image on his screen and began to start worrying- the transparency was stretching, and he didn't have a definitive signal! He tapped the keys to override the program and nearly panicked- Dayle's fingers were becoming invisible altogether! "I've got a fibrillation!" he half-yelled, half to Roy, half to the earpiece. Touching his ear device, he picked up Link, who was asking, "You got a location?"  
  
Marth hurriedly hacked into the data for his own couch in his living room. "Targeting- almost there..." he muttered.  
  
Roy, seeing Dayle more than half invisible, panicked when he saw her panicking over finishing her level. "She's going into arrest," he warned Marth.  
  
"Lock. I've got it!" Marth rejoiced.  
  
"Now, Marth, now!" Link yelled into his ear.  
  
Marth pushed the "ENTER" button, praying that Dayle would make it. 


	2. Chapter 2

It is now time for my first FOLLOW-UP CHAPTER! Are y'alls scared yet? I hope the first one wasn't too short but I hope to make this next one a lot longer. Also, maybe the references to The Matrix were too cheesy, but I liked it, it's another of my obsessions... Yeah, the lines *were* taken directly from that one scene where he gets sucked in... hehe ^^; And also I have a thing for Converse All-Stars, so forgive me... I'm sorry if the writing style is beginning to look a little JK Rowling to you all, that's just the mood I'm in. For a reference later in this chapter, no he is NOT her father, it's the effect of his scolding... (There's an OC/Marth romance coming up... hehehehehe! ^.^) No flames on the romances in this chappie, I'm just having fun, is all...  
  
Reminder: Don't own SSBM, Nintendo, X-Men, Linkin Park, Cake, or The Matrix. I own Dayle and the plot. Don't steal those or my ferrets will find you...  
  
A Safe Haven  
  
Chapter 2  
  
In which Dayle goes majorly punk (not like she wasn't before, but still...)  
  
Dayle Haven was having the oddest dream... She had been playing Super Smash Bros. Melee, then had dived into her controller, made smaller by the second. She swam into the wire connecting it to the GameCube, going effortlessly. Once she reached the plug, she seemed to shrink even smaller, stepping onto what seemed to be blank whiteness...  
  
And then she had the sensation that she was falling into herself before-  
  
She woke up, instantaneously, on a comfortable leather couch in an apartment room that she had never seen before in her entire life. Propping herself up on her elbows, Dayle took a careful look around the room, but saw the coolest apartment she could ever imagine. The walls were a light gray, but not a dull or uninviting one. The coffee table in front of her was sparkling glass on top of an iron base- *It's probably s'posed to be outside,* Dayle thought. Another chair and smaller sofa, matching the couch she was on now, also adorned the room. Mirrors were hung from the walls for decoration. *I wish this was my apartment,* she thought.  
  
A small "click" and squeak, and the door to the living room swung open, revealing a taller man with dark blue hair and bright blue eyes. He was wearing a dark gray, short-sleeved, collared sweater over chinos and fuzzy cream slippers. Noticing Dayle, he said warmly, "I'm sorry if I woke you. Are you all right?"  
  
"I'm fine- wait just a minute here." Dayle was becoming rather confused. No one in her world had blue hair like that... She knew she had seen this man's face before... "Where am I?" she ventured to ask.  
  
"You're in my apartment. It's a Sunday afternoon in March and you don't have to worry about a thing, we don't have school on Sundays."  
  
"Where's your apartment?" she asked.  
  
"Downtown, in Nintendo Metropolis." The man sat down on the couch gracefully. He could tell that she was utterly bewildered.  
  
"Ninten- wait..." Dayle sat up, only to put her head in her hands. Then she sat up straight, exclaiming, "I don't believe it! It's not possible!"  
  
"What's not possible?"  
  
"I can't be sitting in front of Marth from Super Smash Bros. Melee. This cannot be happening. It's just too weird... I just fell asleep and I'm having a dream within a dream..." Dayle looked into Marth's eyes. "Please pinch me," she asked with authority.  
  
Marth was a little giddy. *She just asked me to pinch her,* he thought. "Where and how hard?" he asked with a smart-aleck smile on his face.  
  
"You're not allowed to say that! It's only me and Tony! And then he says, 'Anywhere and as long as I can feel it,'" she said mischievously.  
  
Marth gingerly touched her wrist- then dug his fingernails so deep that Dayle thought they might not come back out again. When his hand had gone, she said simply, "Ow." It was bleeding- not very much, but still... "This is real," Dayle said, as more of a statement than a question.  
  
"All of it," Marth said, slightly exasperated.  
  
"It's hard for me to believe. I mean... of all people, not just in, like, stupid stories that people write for their best friend's sister's boyfriend's dog sitter... I had to be the one that you chose to pull in... Why me?" Dayle was obviously feeling better, or she wouldn't be asking questions.  
  
"I couldn't tell you. Even if I knew, I would have to keep it a secret from you anyways." Marth's voice was low and somber. Dayle got the feeling that his occupation (besides that of a Smasher) was a bit on the guarded side as far as secrecy went.  
  
"How did you get me in?"  
  
"Engineering genius." He sighed, then ran his hand through his hair. It was going to be hard to explain everything to Dayle...  
  
"Am I going to be a Smasher, now?"  
  
"Why else would I have brought you in?" Now Marth's voice had a definite bite to it.  
  
"One last question, and then I promise this interrogation's over. All right?" Dayle threw her arm around Marth's shoulders, apologizing, "I'm sorry if I seem not to know anything, but really, I don't... and my last question is, is there a place where I can go to get new clothes?"  
  
Marth perked up noticeably- it wasn't every day that he got to show off his technical genius to a young, beautiful girl (although he wouldn't admit to himself just yet that she was gorgeous). "How about I show you the Construct?" he said, propping himself off of the couch.  
  
"How about it!" Dayle agreed, and got up to follow him. Behind the door he came in, there was a long corridor with other doors branching from it. Marth went to the third doorway on the left and walked in. Inside was a bedroom, with a couch that would fold down into a full bed, a nightstand, a desk, and two chests-of-drawers. Marth plopped onto the couch-bed and pulled up his laptop from the nightstand. Beckoning for Dayle to sit down, he hurriedly typed in a code that let him access the Construct.  
  
His screen instantly turned white. Dayle looked at him, panicked. "You just crashed it!" she screeched.  
  
"That's the Construct," he said, smiling.  
  
"Don't go all Matrix on me," she warned, but she was grinning.  
  
"Put your finger on the mousepad," Marth said softly. When Dayle gave him an apprehensive look, he chuckled and said, "Don't worry, I wouldn't hurt you for the world."  
  
"If you say so," she said, lightly resting her index finger there. She swirled it- *not even a mouse!* she thought. Marth put his finger next to hers- "See, I'm doing it, too," he said cheerfully. Before Dayle could ask him what the hell he was doing, he had pressed the "ENTER" button.  
  
She blinked- and then she was standing on white, and in white.  
  
"This," said Marth, gesturing around, "is the Construct."  
  
"Is it just like the Matrix's?" Dayle asked.  
  
"I thought you said no more questions!" Marth said, bringing out the smart- aleck grin.  
  
"Shut up," Dayle groaned, but she was still smiling. "I assume that's a yes?" When Marth nodded, she put her hand to her chin, stroking an imaginary beard and mock- thinking. Suddenly, she knelt at Marth's feet, begging, "Please oh please oh please can I take it for a test run?"  
  
"If you must," Marth mock-groaned, then helped Dayle up.  
  
"Right then, what should I tell it to do first..." she mused before yelling "I know! Knee-high, black Converse All-Stars in a size seven and a half!"  
  
She waited. A faint zooming sound grew, along with a dot traveling forward from the "horizon," until the shoes stopped right in front of her. "Ohmigosh. Sweet!" she exclaimed, but then said, "Can I get those with wings to go, please?"  
  
The shoes blurred for a moment, then reappeared, this time with Mercury- like wings on the heels next to the circular logo. "Thank you!" she yelled, and oddly enough (to her) it didn't echo.  
  
"Is there anything else you need?" Marth asked politely. "I'm sure the Construct would be happy to help you..."  
  
"Actually, this is the beginning of my Melee outfit. I need to stay in here for a little while before all the parts are complete, and then if they don't fit, I might need back in here to change sizes and whatnot. In other words, I like... playing... with your... toys," she said quickly, faltering at the end.  
  
"I'll just leave you in here for a while, then, shall I," Marth said before shimmering out. Dayle didn't even notice- she was behaving like a kid in a candy store.  
  
Marth, on the outside once again, glanced at the computer screen before sighing and getting comfortable on the couch-bed. He had conveniently forgotten to mention to her that he could monitor everything she was doing before he logged out. *This might be amusing,* he thought before he fell asleep.  
  
+++  
  
Dayle was just beginning to stare around and wonder at the things she could do before she had an idea. "Black miniskort!" she yelled, eyes shut and concentrated on what she wanted it to look like.  
  
To her surprise, her heart's desire (as far as miniskorts went) was now posed on an invisible frame next to her new shoes.  
  
"Teehee," she giggled to herself before screwing up her face and shouting, "Gloves! Tank top! Visor! Wrigley's Extra! Big Red! Element sweatshirt!" All of the items came, zooming, to stop beside the other elements of her costume.  
  
"Now, as long as I'm in here..." she said aloud, rubbing her hands together maliciously.  
  
+++  
  
Poke. Poke. Poke. Poke, poke, poke. "Are you still alive or what?"  
  
"What is it, Dayle?" Marth asked groggily, trying his hardest to open his eyes.  
  
"Do you have a place where I could put all of this stuff?"  
  
"What-all did you- oh." Marth had finally opened his eyes- and seen the extent of stuff that Dayle had brought out of the Construct. "Yeah, I have a guest room. Follow me."  
  
Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he took a swift glance at the clock on the computer- it read 12:43. *No wonder I'm so hungry,* he thought. Leading her out of the room, he went down the hall one door, then opened the one on the same side as his. "This is the guest room. I hope you can use it for a couple of days before I find you a nice apartment..."  
  
"Who says I can't live with you for a while?" Dayle said, getting defensive.  
  
"Believe me, if Roy is going to act anything like I think he will, you'll want to run screaming from here by the end of the night." He opened the guest room door, and Dayle peered inside.  
  
"Marth, it- it's so pretty!" The walls were a light shade of blue, and there were gauzy drapes hanging over the window, letting the light in. The full bed looked like it had a water mattress, and the frame matched the nightstand, closet, desk, and dresser. "Thank you so much!" she squealed, putting down her dozen shopping bags full of clothes from the Construct to hug him briefly.  
  
"Don't mention it," he said gently. "Make yourself at home- I need to go make lunch, otherwise Roy probably won't eat. Want anything in particular?"  
  
"If you have a Caesar salad, I'll have that. With maybe a little chicken on it. And don't skimp on the dressing, Lord knows I love dressing. Unless you don't have that, in which case fix me... whatever. I really don't care."  
  
"Is chow mein okay?" After a very vigorous nod from Dayle, he closed the door quietly and roamed to the kitchen. *I wonder if she'll always be like this,* he wondered. He was developing a headache.  
  
+++  
  
"Lunch is ready!" Marth called from the kitchen.  
  
Dayle was about to get up from her bed when her bedroom door burst open. Roy was standing there, grinning like a fool. He was wearing a blue T- shirt with a Super Smash Bros. Melee logo on it in black over khaki cargo shorts. "Hey, you know he said lunch is ready and all, and- whoa..." He had just seen her outfit. "Are you supposed to be wearing that?" he asked. "Because it's a little revealing and all."  
  
"What? Is it the shirt? Because I've got a sweatshirt, too..." Dayle stood up, twirling with her arms held wide. "Do you like it?" she asked, nervous. "Is it all right?"  
  
"It's perfect... Looks very, erm, unique..." Roy ran his fingers through his hair before saying, "Well... last one to the kitchen's a rotten egg?" he suggested.  
  
"I'll beat you!" Dayle squealed, darting out the door and following her nose. Roy was left standing at her door like an idiot.  
  
"I never said I was ready!" he whined.  
  
Dayle, already to the kitchen, walked through the doorway and was met with a strong smell of chicken gravy. "What's cooking?" she asked Marth, who was leaning against the stove.  
  
"Chow mein- whoa there, young lady. You are NOT going out of the house in THAT!" Marth stared blatantly at the knee-high shoes, the rather short black skort, the teeny black tank top, the long black gloves, and the black visor with the Element logo on it, which she was wearing upside-down.  
  
"Too bad, Daddy, it's my Melee outfit. Do you like it?" She twirled for him like she had for Roy, ignoring the look of exasperation on Marth's face.  
  
"Dayle... Dayle, Dayle, Dayle, what am I going to do with you... Noodles on top or on the bottom?"  
  
"On top, thank you for asking. Mmmmm, that smells absolutely divine..." As he spooned vegetables and chicken in the thick gravy on her plate, she went to the refrigerator and leaned inside, rummaging for a Mountain Dew. Finding one, she unscrewed the lid- and got sprayed in the face by a powerful release of CO2. She shrieked and threw the pop in the sink, searching for paper towels. Marth was laughing at the sight- "What's so funny?" Dayle demanded, fuming.  
  
"Nothing, it's just... hahahahaha! I shook that up because Roy usually drinks those... I'm so sorry, it's just... the irony of it all!"  
  
"Well, it would've been funnier if it wasn't me," Dayle sulked. "I'll go change now, because one-" she held up a finger- "you don't like my outfit, and two-" she held up another finger- "you got Mountain Dew all over it!"  
  
"Hey, I'm not the one who opened it," Marth said apologetically, but Dayle was already storming to her room. As soon as Dayle left, though, Roy stepped into the kitchen. "What did you do to her?" he asked with glee. "She looked really wet..."  
  
"A Mountain Dew bomb that was meant for you went off in her face..."  
  
"That's pretty funny! And you got her to go change in the bargain..."  
  
"Noodles on top or on the bottom?"  
  
+++  
  
*That was pretty funny,* Dayle admitted to herself once she was back in her room. *And I guess the outfit is a LITTLE over the top... hmmm, what to wear now...* She got out a pair of black flares and a pink top with the FROOT LOOPS label on it. She even changed her shoes to match her top- now they were only ankle-high pink Converse All-Stars. She gave herself a good, hard look in her mirror, and finding herself to her satisfaction, she ran back to the kitchen.  
  
Her plate was still sitting near the stove. Opening random drawers to look for a fork, she finally found one and took a bite. *Eeeew, it's cold,* she thought. *You know what, screw this, I'm getting a SlimFast.* Opening the fridge again, she peered through all of the shelves for one-  
  
"You know, there is such a thing as a microwave," Marth said from the doorway. Dayle looked up, very surprised, both at the sudden entrance and at the fact that he had seemingly read her mind.  
  
"Did you just read my mind?" she asked stupidly.  
  
"Somewhat. I knew your plate was cold and that you're lazy, put two and two together..." He ambled over and put her plate in the microwave with a paper towel on top, punching in "3" once the little door was closed.  
  
"You can read minds?" Dayle asked again.  
  
*She's still on that again,* Marth mentally sighed. "I'm a bit of a magician. You know, like stupid party tricks and the like. And I can read minds a little too, kind of like Jean Gray in X-Men." Noting Dayle's look of repulsion, he said quickly, "I can't read your mind from back here, I can only read it if you let me. Don't worry..."  
  
"I was just about to say, some people have secrets that they don't want anyone else to know."  
  
"Like you?" Marth's voice was full of concern. "I don't mean to pry, but..."  
  
"I don't want to talk about it, not right now. No offense, Marth, but... I just met you, and..." She shut the refrigerator door- she was getting goosebumps.  
  
"No offense taken, Dayle." An awkward silence fell before Marth said, "You can talk about it with me when you're ready, though. I have such a thing as a confidentiality code, and morals. I keep my promises."  
  
"I just might take you up on that offer." Dayle smiled shyly, and Marth returned it. *She's so pretty, but so delicate- like a figurine you're afraid to touch because you might break it,* he thought. His eyes glazed over as he retreated into his own mind, but he was only a few seconds gone before the microwave beeped at him. He opened it and dragged out the plate, wincing.  
  
"Here's your lunch, I'm sorry it's cold... don't say it was your fault, because the Mountain Dew was all mine..."  
  
"Thank you, Marth." Their eyes locked for a moment, and to Marth, he thought he was seeing into Dayle's mind.  
  
*Don't think about it,* Marth told himself, *don't even think about her as your girlfriend... it's never going to work out...* "I'll, erm..." he said, searching for a way to get out of the kitchen.  
  
"Your computer needs some work, doesn't it?" Dayle said with a wink, correctly interpreting his sudden awkwardness. Marth smiled and ducked out of the kitchen, glad for the excuse to leave.  
  
Dayle, digging into her chow mein, was glad that Marth wasn't watching her any more. She was struck by a feeling of jelly-kneed liking whenever he was around.  
  
+++  
  
Knock, knock... Knock knock knock knock knock. "Anybody in there?" Knock, knock... click... When Roy opened Dayle's door at 6:17 that evening, he was surprised by what he saw.  
  
Dayle was lying facedown on her bed, music blaring from the headphones hanging halfway off of her ears. The shades were drawn down on the windows, and hanging from every possible square inch of her walls were posters of rock bands.  
  
"Crawling in my skin, these wounds they will not heal..." Roy slowly shuffled to Dayle's bed and knelt, trying to hear through her headphones.  
  
"I know you're there, Roy, don't pretend like you're not," she said with no emotion.  
  
"What are you listening to?" he asked.  
  
"Linkin Park, Reanimation, Crawling. Wanna hear?"  
  
"Erm, no thanks." He glanced around, looking for a topic so he could make conversation. "You did this room completely over, didn't you?"  
  
"Sure," she said, putting the CD on pause and sliding her headphones off. "How do you like it? Is it too unique for your tastes?"  
  
"Do you listen to all of these bands?" Roy said, averting the question. She certainly had a lot of posters...  
  
"No, of course not. Their posters just look really cool, is all. I listen to a lot of stuff, not all rock, not all pop, not all hip-hop, not all rap, not all contemporary. I call it well-rounded. Actually, there's a song I want you to hear if you have the time. Not the hard-rock kind!" she said to his look of alarm. "Just listen... if I can find the stupid CD," she muttered to her CD case, which was full to bursting. "Oh, here it is." She inserted it into the wildly spinning CD player, tossing the Linkin Park CD on her nightstand.  
  
"Who's it by?"  
  
"A band called Cake. It's really funny....."  
  
Roy listened to the cool intro, then got absorbed into the lyrics. "We are building a religion, we are building it bigger, we are widening the corridors and adding more lanes, we are building a religion, a limited edition, we are now accepting callers for these pendant keychains..." *This is pretty funny,* he admitted.  
  
The CD sang on, "To resist it is useless, it is useless to resist it, his cigarette is burning but he never seems to ash, he is proving his poodle, he is living comfort eagle, you can meet at his location but you'd better come with cash, now, his hat is on backwards, he can show you his tattoos, he is in the music business, he is calling you 'dude!'" "This reminds me of Link so much," Roy said.  
  
"What does Link do? Is he, like, a DJ or something?"  
  
"Yeah, and he's kind of full of himself." The music continued pumping, "Now, today is tomorrow, and tomorrow, today, and yesterday is weaving in and out... and the fluffy white lines that the airplane leaves behind are drifting right in front of the waning of the moon, he is handling the money, he is serving the food, he knows about your party, he is calling you 'dude!'"  
  
Dayle reached over and put the CD on pause. "So, what about Link?"  
  
"What about him?" Roy asked. "Do you have a crush on him, just like every other girl?"  
  
"No," Dayle snapped defensively, but Roy could almost taste her denial. "I just want to know what he's like, is all."  
  
"He thinks he's God's gift to women," Roy said. "It's somewhat funny... he's got a nice voice on the radio and all, but have that voice saying a pickup line and it stops being so 'sexy' for every dithering girl who listens to his program."  
  
Dayle couldn't say anything but "oh" and couldn't do anything than put the CD back on. "Now, do you believe in the one big sign, the double-wide shine on the bootheels of your pride, doesn't matter if you're skinny, doesn't matter if you're fat, you can dress up like a sultan in your onion- head hat, we are building a religion, we are making a brand, we're the only ones to turn to when your castle's turned to sand, take a bite of this apple, Mr. Corporate Events, take a walk through the jungle of cardboard shanties and tents, some people drink Pepsi, some people drink Coke, the wacky morning DJ says democracy's a joke..."  
  
This time it was Roy who paused the CD. "That's another thing about Link- he says the most controversial things. He once said 'Democracy's a joke, why aren't we Socialists' to a politician while he was on air, and the guy was completely fine with it!"  
  
"If anybody said that back home, he would get sued in a jiffy," Dayle commented. Roy pushed the play button and smushed the headphones to his ears. "He says, now, do you believe in the one big song, he is now accepting callers who would like to think along, he says, do you believe in the one true edge, by fastening your safety belts and stepping towards the ledge, he is handling the money, he is serving the food, he is now accepting callers, he is calling me 'dude!' Do you believe in the one big sign, the double-wide shine on the bootheels of your pride, there's no need to ask directions if you ever lose your mind, we're behind you, we're behind you, and let us please remind you, we can send a car to find you if you ever lose your way..." Roy continued listening, but that was the rest of the song. He shut off the media player, then let out a chuckle.  
  
"That's one of the funniest things I've ever heard in quite a long time!" he giggled. "There's no need to ask directions if you ever lose your mind..."  
  
"Yeah, that's my favorite line." A happy silence fell over the morbid room as both of them lounged on her bed, then Roy asked, "Just how old are you?"  
  
"I'll be sixteen-and-a-half tomorrow, actually. Why?"  
  
"Just that the one good thing about being in here is that you don't age. We've been in here for about four years now, which means that I'm still a glorious sixteen. And don't even get on Marth about that, he's ancient compared to most of the other fighters." It was enough to make Dayle smile and wonder.  
  
"Do you actually have, like, over-B attacks and stuff like that?"  
  
"No, that's Nintendo trying to put us into a game. We have much more varied attacks than that, like during the summer melees, Marth could just toss aside his sword and decide to beat Yoshi up with his bare fists. He did that last summer... boy was that amusing..."  
  
"I bet what else is amusing is playing your own character when you're playing GameCube. Doesn't that freak you out?"  
  
"Somewhat," Roy admitted.  
  
Dayle let the silence fall, but then opened her mouth as if to say something. Thinking better of it, she closed her mouth again, but blurted almost immediately, "What's going on with romances and stuff back here? I mean, you guys go to school and stuff, and I suppose there are places you can go on dates, but... I mean, do you know the current gossip of who's going out with who?"  
  
"Are you prepared to have your mind blown away?"  
  
+++  
  
"So wait... You're currently going out with Plum, but that was only after Marth had finished with her. You had gone out with Zelda before that, and Marth broke up with Zelda, who was his most recent girlfriend, which means that right now he's single. Link's going out with... hmmm... Peach? No, Daisy, because Peach is going out with Falco... and Peach is also Fox's leftovers... and Dr. Mario is going out with Nurse Peach, but way back when he was going out with Plum... Young Link is going out with Nana, who broke up with Popo to be with him... Samus is being fought over... let's see, you said Zelda was going to the movies with Luigi tonight, so I guess she's moved on from Marth... and Sheik's going out with Ruto? No, Malon... Captain Falcon is dating Jody Sumner, and he has been for a while now... Did I get them all right?"  
  
"Yes, with little or no correction. Ten points, you get an A!" Roy laughed. "It gets a bit confusing sometimes... we have a disappointing lack of Smasher girls, which means that we had to import all of the characters from every single game a while back... the Metropolis is absolutely swimming with people now, it makes it a bit more lively, and there's definitely more girls..."  
  
"You're a bit full of yourself, Roy," Dayle giggled. "You've got a girlfriend, you know..."  
  
"I know, doesn't that stink?"  
  
"So, if Zelda and Sheik are going out with two different people..."  
  
"Yes, they are two different people. We're not entirely sure if Sheik is male, though..."  
  
"Why would he not be? Seems like he is to me..."  
  
"You haven't met him yet, don't be making assumptions. Are you confused enough yet?"  
  
"No, I still don't know about Ganondorf, why isn't he interested in Samus if she's so available?"  
  
"Promise to keep a secret?" Dayle nodded vigorously. Roy leaned into her ear and whispered into it, "Ganondorf is homosexual."  
  
"He's...!" Dayle began to shriek, but Roy clapped a hand over her mouth. She began shaking with silent, barely suppressed laughter before Roy could take his hand away. "That's so funny!" she said, feeling tears run down her cheeks, she was giggling so hard.  
  
"No one believes me, but I saw him looking at what looked like a woman's fashion magazine one day."  
  
"Hahaha..." Dayle turned to look Roy in the eye, smiling a mischievous smile. "I bet he's gay with Pkachu. Or Jigglypuff. Or even better... MEWTWO!"  
  
Roy nearly exploded with laughter after Dayle voiced her opinion. They were laughing so hard that they didn't even notice when Marth stood in the doorway and attempted to shout, "Keep it down! And what's so funny?"  
  
"No- no- nothing!" Dayle spluttered, choking. Marth shook his head and coughed something that sounded very much like "immature" before he shut the door.  
  
"Hah," Roy sighed. He was panting and red-faced. Dayle was massaging a stitch in her side. Both of them sat upright, embarrassed, when they heard a low grrrrrrowl. "Sorry," Roy apologized, "but I'm hungry. You up to Hot Pockets?"  
  
"Sure, what flavors do you have?" she said, following his lead into the kitchen.  
  
"All Marth likes is Ham and Cheese. One or two?"  
  
"Two, please."  
  
"Four Hot Pockets, comin' up!" he said, shoving them all into the microwave and pressing a button.  
  
Dayle wandered out of the kitchen to the living room. Earlier, she had failed to notice the wide-screen TV taking up most of the wall. A pause screen was currently on, and when Dayle found the remote and pushed "PLAY," the strangest movie she had ever seen began playing.  
  
She assumed that it was a home video of a party or something. She recognized Marth and Roy and a few of the other Smashers, but Dayle never realized how accustomed she was to seeing them in their Melee costumes.  
  
Roy came in through the door and set the Hot Pockets down on the coffee table. "That's last Friday night. It's a thing we have at Perpetual High where a different person hosts a party every week. I'm always the cameraman. I get the best videos..."  
  
"It looks like a lot of fun..."  
  
"Yeah, and Link always plays DJ. He says it's no fun, but that's only because at the parties he can't make out with his girlfriend because he has to work." Dayle laughed and picked up a Hot Pocket. "What's your high school like?"  
  
"It's just like any other high school, I guess, except that you don't really learn anything. Everybody has to go, which is crap, but you don't get any homework. It might be a little hard to get used to, but... that's life." They went back to staring at the screen. Suddenly, Dayle hit the pause button. "Roy," she said, looking at the corner of the screen, "who's that guy with the black beanie and the spandex shirt?"  
  
"Ummm, that would be Marth," Roy said uncomfortably before he pressed the "Play" button.  
  
"Oh," Dayle sighed. She munched on her Hot Pockets for a few more minutes. Thinking back on the day, she couldn't believe everything could have happened like this- she was sitting next to Roy, a character from a game that she had gotten sucked into... she was falling in love with Marth while her mind yelled at her- *he's not good for you, you'll end up getting hurt if you let yourself close to anybody, what if you have to fight him later, can you physically injure someone you love, is it possible that he could help me get over my past, why am I so jelly-kneed whenever he's around-*... She sank into the couch and began to doze- it was a long time since 6:00 that morning...  
  
Roy watched her falling asleep, thinking to himself that she was the best thing that could have ever happened to this apartment. 


End file.
